How Long Does It Take to Dry Brine a Turkey Breast? The Ultimate Guide

There are a lot of opinions out in the world about how best to prep a turkey for Thanksgiving. Should you make a dry-brine turkey? Wet-brine? Skip brining altogether? We’ll just cut right to the chase: The official Epi opinion is that dry-brining is the only brine method you should consider when prepping a holiday bird. The process is literally just coating the raw turkey in salt (and maybe a few other flavorings) and letting it hang out in the fridge for a couple of days. It’s exponentially easier to pull off than a wet brine and it imbues the meat with so much flavor, your guests will never complain about dry, tasteless meat again. But let’s back up:

Dry brining a turkey breast is one of the best ways to ensure moist flavorful meat with crispy skin. But how long does it actually take to properly dry brine a turkey breast? In this comprehensive guide we’ll cover everything you need to know about dry brining times for optimal turkey flavor and texture.

What is Dry Brining?

Dry brining is a quick and easy technique that helps infuse flavor and moisture into meat before cooking. It involves rubbing the turkey breast with a mixture of salt, spices, and herbs and then letting it rest in the refrigerator for a period of time.

The salt draws out some of the natural moisture in the meat, then allows that moisture to reabsorb along with the seasonings This results in a juicy, well-seasoned piece of meat

Dry brining does take some time, but not nearly as long as a traditional wet brine that requires fully submerging the turkey in a saltwater solution. Dry brining is much more convenient while still delivering excellent flavored meat.

How Long Should You Dry Brine a Turkey Breast?

The ideal dry brining time for a boneless turkey breast is 24-48 hours. For a bone-in turkey breast, it’s best to brine for 48 hours.

Here are some general timelines to follow:

Minimum brining time: 24 hours
Ideal brining time: 48 hours
Maximum brining time: 72 hours

Brining for the full 48-72 hours allows the salt and seasonings maximum time to penetrate deep into the thick breast meat. But even just 24 hours will make a noticeable difference in moisture and flavor compared to an unbrined breast.

Dry Brining Times Based on Turkey Breast Size

The exact dry brining time can also vary slightly depending on the size and type of turkey breast:

Boneless turkey breast (2-4 lbs): 24-48 hours
Bone-in turkey breast half (3-5 lbs): 48 hours
Whole bone-in turkey breast (6-8 lbs): 48-72 hours

Larger bone-in turkey breasts need a little more time for the salt to work its way into the meat. An extra 12-24 hours can really maximize the flavor in a big turkey breast.

For a small boneless breast, 24 hours is usually sufficient to get good seasoning penetration. But going the full 48 hours is still recommended for best results.

How to Tell If Your Turkey Breast Is Fully Brined

It can be tricky to tell just by looking if your turkey breast has brined fully. Here are a few ways to check if it’s ready after sitting the minimum brining time:

The surface should appear slightly dried out. Since the salt draws moisture out, the outer layer will get a bit tacky or dried.
The meat will feel firmer. As the salt breaks down muscle fibers, the meat firms up.
Cut into it and check for visible seasoning. You should see salt, pepper, and herbs distributed visibly in the meat.

If after 24 hours the breast doesn’t show these signs, let it brine for several more hours until the exterior dries and the meat firms up.

Can You Over Brine a Turkey Breast?

You don’t want to let the turkey brine for too long or it can actually start to cure the meat, resulting in overly salty flavor and a strange, firm texture.

72 hours is the maximum recommended dry brining time. After 3 days, the salt will have fully penetrated the meat and further brining doesn’t provide any benefit.

Letting it sit for 4-5 days or more can make the turkey breast unpalatably salty. Don’t let your brined turkey breast go over 72 hours in the fridge.

Tips for Proper Dry Brining Times

Here are some useful tips to ensure your turkey breast brines for just the right amount of time:

Brine in the refrigerator, never at room temp. Keeping it chilled prevents bacterial growth.
Check on the turkey and flip it halfway through. This helps the brine distribute evenly.
Rinse off excess brine before cooking. This prevents over-salting from brine sitting on the surface.
Use kosher or sea salt. Table salt contains additives that can over-season.
Dry the turkey well before brining. Moisture on the skin will dilute the brine mixture.

Dry Brining Makes All the Difference

Taking the time to properly dry brine really pays off when you bite into a juicy, flavorful home cooked turkey breast. While traditional wet brining does work well, dry brining is just as effective and much easier.

Aim for the 48 hour sweet spot for maximum brine penetration into your turkey breast. But even just 24 hours makes a big improvement compared to no brining at all.

Give dry brining a try this holiday season, and your turkey breast will be the star of the table! Crispy, seasoned skin wrapped around tender, juicy meat is a foolproof recipe for success.

how long does it take to dry brine a turkey breast

Why dry-brining results in the best turkey:

The wet-brining method involves some complex maneuvers. For one, you’ll need to source a giant bucket or a big bag to let the turkey bathe in. It’s a process prone to nightmarish outcomes (#throwback to when former Epi food editor Rhoda Boone ended up with a fridge flooded with turkey water). You’re far less likely to encounter such problems when making a dry-brined turkey. Sure, you’ll have to make a little room in the fridge, but that’s the nature of Thanksgiving turkey, no matter which route you take.

Dry-brining has more going for it than mere user-friendliness. It also renders the turkey skin extra crispy: As the turkey rests uncovered in the fridge, the skin dries out, allowing it to crisp beautifully in the oven. Additionally, dry-brining ensures the turkey meat is penetrated with seasoning throughout.

When you dry-brine a bird, the salt draws out moisture from the turkey, causing the salt to dissolve. Once dissolved, the salt combines with those turkey juices and gets reabsorbed into the meat. Along the way, the process breaks down muscle proteins, giving way to the most tender, moist, well-seasoned turkey you’ll ever taste, no basting or buckets required.

Dry brining vs. wet brining:

There are two ways to brine your Thanksgiving turkey: a wet brine or a dry brine. Dry brining simply involves rubbing a turkey in a salt-and-herb mixture and letting it sit in the refrigerator for many hours (usually about one hour per pound). Wet brining is slightly more involved: it requires soaking a turkey in a salt-water solution (herbs, spices, and aromatics can be incorporated, and sometimes other liquids like beer or molasses are added to the water) for several hours or overnight.

Dry brined turkey breast

FAQ

How long should I dry brine turkey breast?

In a small bowl, mix the sugar, salt, thyme, sage, and pepper for the dry brine. Place the turkey on the rack of a baking sheet. Rub and pat the dry brine all over the turkey, including inside the cavity. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 24 hours and up to 48 hours.

Is 3 days too long to dry brine a turkey?

Dry-brining for more than 24 hours will produce even juicier and better-seasoned meat. To brine longer than 24 hours, loosely cover turkey with plastic wrap or cheesecloth before refrigerating, to prevent excess moisture loss through evaporation. Let rest for up to three days.

Do you rinse off dry brine on turkey?

And if you’re wondering, no—you don’t need to rinse the bird, whether it’s been dry-brined or wet-brined, before adding more seasoning and roasting. Again, the bird needs to be dry, and Youngman also notes “it’s not particularly sanitary to wash meat in the sink.”

Is it better to brine a turkey wet or dry?

Turkeys that have been wet brined often yield slightly less brown skin due to more water in the skin. Dry brines work by drawing out moisture in the turkey at the beginning of the brining process, but then the moisture will redistribute with the infused flavors towards the end of the process and during cooking.